In Only a Second
by Moonlit Queen
Summary: Noel is a Guardian of Etro and remembers his past life. He was murdered when he was eighteen. He wants to know what happened to everyone that he used to know and he wants to know what really happened the night he was murdered. *different pairings involved in here so don't shoot me for any of the ones I paired in here?*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Guardians of Valhalla; all working for a single goddess named Etro. She controlled every piece of land and the beating hearts of mankind. She created and tried to never destroy. She had her angels and Chaos had his Demons. The world could not exist with only good, but there had to be an evil. There had to be life and there had to be death. How you live your life determines where you end up when you die. Just because you ended up dying in the arms of Chaos didn't mean you were a horrible soul, but it just meant you lost your way and you couldn't be saved.

There were many Guardians for Etro, just like there were many Guardians for Chaos. Sometimes they clashed in battle and other times came together in times of peace. The world has always been in that kind of balance. Without this balance it is said that the world would have never existed in the first place. Where there is light there is always a shadow; where there is darkness there is always a light.

Noel Kreiss was among the Guardians of Etro. She valued him, just like she valued all of her other angels. She loved everyone and everything, even the ones that couldn't be saved. Noel, however, always stood out to her. He soon became her closest Guardian and he held that title with honor.

"Noel, please come here for a moment."

The goddesses' long blonde hair was flowing in the wind of Valhalla. She looked at the Blue Ocean and moonlit sky and sighed as she saw Chaos miles away looking into her eyes from his castle. Noel approached her slowly and kneeled.

"Do you think that Chaos is planning something? He's been staring at me for what seems like forever. I don't know what he wants. Maybe he's planning to attack us for our disagreement that happened at the last reunion. What is your opinion on this Noel?"

She had a soft voice that was like a lullaby each time she spoke. Her pink lips matching up to each word perfectly. Noel stood up next to her on the balcony and looked at the direction of his castle. He nodded his head slowly.

"I wonder your divinity. I cannot say for certain if he may be planning something or is just admiring your beauty, but he does seem a little troubled."

She smiled, but soon that smile disappeared when she felt a harsh and cold shiver run up her spine, giving her endless chills. She nodded and thanked Noel for his opinion. She looked back to the ocean and dismissed Noel.

Noel walked back to a small and black room within the castle. He looked into a crystal ball and saw the entire world. He zoomed in on a place called Cocoon and watched different people. He liked to calm himself down by watching the world in this crystal ball. It seemed to hold all of the answers that he had been seeking. He could zoom in on anyone's life if he chose to, but he usually liked to let everyone have their privacy. He smiled as he remembered bits and pieces of his last human life. He chuckled at one memory of a pink haired girl he used to know. Her name had been Serah and she was his best friend through everything. She married a man named Snow and his smiled died as he remembered that he never saw her again after the marriage. He had called her number multiple times and had wondered if she was alright, but she never picked up and she never would. He wanted to know if she grew old with him and they lived happily. He wanted to know if she had children or if she never did. He wanted to know if like him she had died at a young age. He wondered if maybe she was in the castle with him, but that would be something that he would probably never know considering there were millions upon millions of souls that entered this castle in seconds.

He also remembered a silver-blue haired girl. She was fifteen and she was like a sister to him. She was always so sweet and innocent and would never dream of hurting anything. She loved to sing and pick flowers. She wanted to travel around the entire world and take pictures of her memories. She wanted to never be forgotten by the world. Unfortunately everyone is forgotten at one point. She died at such a young age in a crash. In seconds she was gone, like she was never there in the first place. The world never had the chance to know her, but Noel had.

Noel sat in silence as he remembered his past life. Sometimes he found that it was best to never think about what had happened or any part of his life. He had known a lot of pain, but still he ended up as a Guardian of Etro. Many people had told him that he would never find happiness, but would only find out what it was like to live in pain and hatred. He let out a hushed cry as he remembered the night he was murdered by a man he trusted and secretly loved with all of his heart. He was betrayed by him and as he died he heard his apologies to him, but it was too late because his life had slipped. In seconds his life flashed before his eyes and before he knew it he was gone. It only took a few seconds to be born into the world and it takes less than that to die.

He wondered as he sat what could've happened if he had lived longer than to the age of eighteen and he wondered what happened to everyone else that he used to know. Did Serah live out her days with her hero? Did Yeul find peace and happiness? Did Caius, the man he trusted live with his sin and ask for forgiveness or did he fill himself up with guilt and pain that he couldn't take it anymore? These were questions that Noel decided that he would never want to know the answers to because if he did he would never forgive himself for the life that he didn't get to live.

**A/N: End of Chapter 1 : ) I hope you enjoyed and I hope this story makes you think about things?! Idk but I've always thought about what sort of things you might experience when you die. Anywho I hope you like it so far, and hopefully I actually cont. this story if you guys' want because I actually find this one interesting. Until next time :D Oh and before I forget… I don't own any of the characters, but if I did… let's not go into that :O**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Noel was at a conflicted stage. He wanted to consult in Etro, so she could tell him what he should do, but something would always stop him. He would open his mouth, but the words would never flow out and it would just turn into a hushed sound. He wanted to have a second chance at the life that he never had to explore. He wanted to know all of the details. Were the dead truly ever gone? Was he haunting everyone without him knowing? Was this truly a second life? Noel sighed and looked down at his feet.

Etro had noticed that Noel was in a stage where he wanted to know many answers. She didn't know if she could tell him everything. She wouldn't even know where to begin. She would listen to Noel cry alone, while he thought no one was around. His soul was still not fully in Vahalla. It seemed to her that he was in misery and was still bound to the life he had left behind, but how could she make him feel better? How could she make him let go of everything that he had left behind. Her eyes grew saddened. She hated it when one of her angels was in pain. She wanted to hug them and never leave their side until they felt better. She knew his life had been cut short due a person that he trusted.

She watched Noel from the doorway. He sat facing a wall and his gentle sobs could be heard. She could see little drops of tears hitting the stone floor. She quietly approached him and kneeled behind him; wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She whispered gentle words to him and his sobs soon died down. She started to sing him a lullaby that would make anyone be touched in their souls. She had the voice of an angel; the most beautiful voice that anyone could have. She wiped away his tears that surrounded his cheeks. The goddess Etro pulled Noel closer to her chest as she sung. The song seemed to last forever, but it was an eternity that you'd never want to let go of.

"I know your pain Noel, but I beg of you to let go of everything that was left behind. I feel that it only will hurt you if you know everything that happened. If you know everything that everyone is doing. I don't want you to be in that pain. Trust me Noel if I could do anything for you, you know I would. I hate seeing my guardians in this sorrow. This is a heaven, a place where love is bound and possibilities are endless. This is the eternity that those who have passed away have earned."

Noel sat there lifeless, just listening to her soothing words. He didn't know how to respond at first.

"Goddess that we all pray to, I do not know what to say. Something tells me that I can't let go. I want to know, I have to. I don't mean to cross you or anything. I'm just speaking my feelings."

The goddess shook her head and smiled.

"You have done nothing wrong Noel. Everyone wants to know what it could've been like. I can show you all of the answers you deserve, but Noel be warned there is no turning back. If I show you, you mustn't be afraid. Do you still want to do this?"

"Yes, I still want to know, but wait-"

"Yes, I am sending you back to find out everything you deserve to know. Be warned that if you talk to anyone it will exterminate your whole existence as a spirit and a body."

"What do you mean by talking to anyone?"

"Noel when I send you back you'll have knowledge of this world and that one. You'll be able to see everything. You'll see the span of people's lives ticking down. I am sending you back as if you had never died. You'll know that you had died, but everyone else won't remember. Think of it as if you had never been murdered."

"Basically, I'll be the only one who knows that I was murdered? What about all of the questions of my past life? How will piece together everything that happened if I can't speak to anyone?"

"Noel, there are clues waiting on that world for you. I will place signs everywhere I can. Remember you didn't die yet to them."

She motioned Noel to follow her into a dark room with a single white door.

"That's the door to that world. You will be returned to your body. You'll wake up again. Find everything that you must. Remember you mustn't communicate with anyone with your will be sent back a month before your death. You will return here when you are ready to. Once the time that I have given you to find everything out that you are seeking is up you must walk through this door and not look back. I repeat, do not look back."

"If I'm sent here a month before does this mean that I will still die at the hand of Caius?"

"No, not necessarily, just think of this as a second chance. Be warned Noel… demons will try to consume your beating heart. All men have that nature in them, but you must continue to fight those urges. Remember the door will start to glow when your time is up, but you will know."

Noel nodded and sighed as he took the first steps to the door. This was it… whether he liked it or not, he would learn the answers by living through them. She never told him when that gate would glow, how much time he would have.

He stopped before he reached the door.

"Why can't I look back when I am on my journey home."

Etro smiled and turned her back to him as she walked out of the dark room. She whispered on her way out.

"Sometimes it is best to move on and figure these things out for yourself. Good luck."

**A/N: Yepza… this is happening. Lol, so keep reviewing and keep reading for me ok? I hope you are all liking the story so far… and stay tuned for the next update ;D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The door glowed a blinding white, as he stepped through it. He could see memories of his flying around him on a cinema-like strip of film. Noel was mesmerized by the whole experience. His brown locks flying with the winds. He felt like he was falling as these memories circled him. Finally he came to a halt.

Noel fluttered his eyes open. He looked around slowly and cautiously. He had awoken in a small apartment room that had the balcony doors open; the wind blowing in softly. White sheets surrounded his toned body. The walls were painted a nice blue that had reminded him of oceans. Noel thought for a moment. He remembered that there was something that he had to do, but he just didn't quite remember. His head pounded as he tried to jog his memory of what just happened. He remembered a door and an angelic face. Voiceless words ran around his head. Noel pondered for a moment. Then decided that whatever he thought he had seen was probably a dream.

He tried to speak a hello, but a rusted and croaked noise escaped him. _That's weird, I guess I lost my voice or something, that isn't good._ Noel thought. The sun shone directly into the room now and he was lost in the beauty of the sun rays that he stopped thinking about his messed up voice. He slowly and groggily stepped on the wooden floor. He noticed a bookshelf with thousands of books as he walked out of the bedroom. He found it odd that one was sticking out from the shelf. He approached it with caution. He then looked at a yellow sticky note with cursive handwriting on it. He looked at the quotations on the sticky note.

"A man was murdered long ago in this exact place, however, the Goddess gave him mercy. She promised to let him learn his past and his future with a slight exchange of words he walked through the door that lead to life and paradise."

Noel re-read the phrase again and again. It slowly made more sense each time he read the words. Noel then read it one last time before he realized that his dream seemed very familiar to this quote. Was someone talking to him through quotes? Or maybe he had just read the quote the night before and had a dream that matched it. He still found it strange that this was the book that was lying out on the bookshelf when everything else seemed so neat. He then thought about it. Maybe he had left it out before he went to bed. Noel was lost in thought before he heard a knock at his front door.

He looked through the peep hole to see a man with purple hair and a girl with long flowing silver hair. Caius and Yeul; it seemed like ages from the last time he had seen them. They both smiled to him as he opened the door. Noel hugged Yeul first, while Caius stood in the doorway smirking. Then when Yeul had gone into the kitchen Caius embraced Noel; pulling him close. Noel smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"You seem a little out of it Noel. Did anything happen that your best friend should know about?"

Caius winked at Noel. Caius was never expecting that Noel would have a girlfriend over, but that's where his mind first went in thoughts.

"I just had a really bad migraine last night I guess and you know how those work out for people."

Noel looked down as his headache started to approach again. He sat down on a tan couch and closed his eyes for a second. He saw Caius standing over him and dropping a bloody knife to the ground. Noel gasped for air as he opened his eyes; a worried Yeul and Caius watching him.

"Seriously Noel, are you okay?"

Yeul whispered as she sat next to the shaken up man. She scooted closer and put her arms around his shoulders.

"Maybe I should hum you a lullaby. Those always help when Caius has a headache."

Noel nodded and that cued Yeul to hum him to dreams.

**A/N: There's Chapter 3 ;) Sorry for the wait people, but I've been busy with life! Again I hope you like this story and please keep reviewing because it encourages me (:**


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